At Atlantic Health System Neuroscience's Skull Base Surgery Program, we use microsurgical techniques to make traditional open surgery safer and less invasive with improved patient outcomes.

During these procedures, an incision is made behind the hairline and a section of bone at the bottom of the skull is removed so that a tumor or portion of the brain can be accessed with minimal to no brain retraction. With the aid of an operating microscope, the surgeon will then remove the tumor and reconstruct the area where bone was cut away. In some cases, this surgery is performed with minimally invasive techniques and endoscopy, which allows for smaller incisions through an eyebrow or eyelid.

– Highly-focused radiation beams are used to target specific tumors in the skull base with minimal damage to the surrounding healthy tissue. This approach eliminates the need for open surgery and can also be used to treat arteriovenous malformations and trigeminal neuralgia.

Embolization

– Prior to some surgeries, an embolization will be used to cut the blood supply to the tumor, making removal easier.